1 Kings 16-22

Modern English Version

16 Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, ² “I exalted you out of the dust and made you prince over My people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made My people Israel to sin, to provoke Me to anger with their sins. ³ See, I will take away the posterity of Baasha and the posterity of his house and will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. ⁴ Those from the house of Baasha who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the fields will be eaten by the birds of the air.”

⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Baasha and what he did and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ⁶ So Baasha slept with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah, and Elah his son reigned in his place.

⁷ And so it was by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani that the word of the Lord came against Baasha and his house, for all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord in provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands because he acted like the house of Jeroboam and also because he killed it.

Elah, King of Israel

⁸ In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah, and he did so two years.

⁹ His servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him, and when he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, manager of his house in Tirzah, ¹⁰ Zimri went in and smote him and killed him. This took place in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and Zimri reigned in his place.

¹¹ When he began to reign, as soon as he was seated on his throne, he executed all the household of Baasha. He left no males, neither of his relatives nor of his friends. ¹² Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, ¹³ because of all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned and by which they made Israel to sin in provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities.

¹⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

Zimri, King of Israel

¹⁵ In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. ¹⁶ The troops who were encamped heard how Zimri had conspired and had slain the king. As a result, all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. ¹⁷ Omri went up from Gibbethon and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. ¹⁸ When Zimri saw that the city had fallen, he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over him with fire, and he died, ¹⁹ because of his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the Lord, in walking in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he did to make Israel to sin.

²⁰ Now the rest of the acts of Zimri and his treason, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

Omri, King of Israel

²¹ Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts. Half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath to make him king, and half followed Omri. ²² But the people who followed Omri defeated the people who followed Tibni, the son of Ginath. So Tibni died, and Omri reigned.

²³ In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel, and he did so twelve years. He reigned six years in Tirzah. ²⁴ He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents^[a] of silver. He fortified the hill and named the city he built after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, calling it “Samaria.”

²⁵ But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did worse than all who preceded him, ²⁶ for he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities.

²⁷ Now the rest of the acts Omri performed and his might that he showed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ²⁸ So Omri slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son reigned in his place.

Ahab Reigns in Israel

²⁹ In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. ³⁰ Ahab the son of Omri did more evil in the sight of the Lord than all who were before him. ³¹ The sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat were seen as minor for him to walk in, for he took Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, as his wife and went and served Baal and worshipped him. ³² He raised an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. ³³ Ahab made an Asherah and did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who preceded him.

³⁴ In his days, Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho. He laid the foundation at the expense of his firstborn Abiram and set up the gates at the cost of the life of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

Elijah’s Prediction of Drought

17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was one of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand, there will not be dew or rain these years except by my word.”

² The word of the Lord came to him, saying, ³ “Go from here and turn eastward and hide by the Kerith brook, which is east of the Jordan. ⁴ You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

⁵ So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and lived by the Kerith brook, which is east of the Jordan. ⁶ The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

The Widow of Zarephath

⁷ After some time, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. ⁸ The word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁹ “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there. I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” ¹⁰ So he got up and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Please get a small cup of water for me to drink.” ¹¹ As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

¹² She said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, but only a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a jar. I am gathering two sticks, that I can go in and make it for me and my son, so we may eat it and die.”

¹³ Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make a little cake for me first, and bring it to me, and afterward, make some for your son and you, ¹⁴ for thus says the Lord God of Israel: The barrel of meal will not run out, nor will the jar of oil empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.”

¹⁵ She went and did what Elijah told her to do, and she, he, and her household ate many days. ¹⁶ The barrel of meal did not run out, nor did the jar of oil empty, according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by Elijah.

¹⁷ Later on, the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became terribly sick, so much so that he had no breath left in him. ¹⁸ She said to Elijah, “What do I have to do with you, O you man of God? Have you come to remind me of my sin and to kill my son?”

¹⁹ And he said to her, “Give me your son,” and he took him out of her arms and carried him up to a loft where he slept and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ He cried to the Lord and said, “O Lord, my God, have You brought tragedy upon the widow with whom I live by killing her son?” ²¹ And he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord and said, “O Lord, my God, I pray that You let this child’s soul come into him again.”

²² The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he was revived. ²³ Elijah took the child and brought him down out of the chamber into the house and returned him to his mother, and Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”

²⁴ The woman said to Elijah, “Now, because of this, I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth!”

Elijah Confronts Ahab

18 After many days, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying, “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.” ² Elijah went to show himself to Ahab.

And there was a great famine in Samaria. ³ Ahab called Obadiah, who was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. ⁴ When Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them in groups of fifty in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) ⁵ And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go into the land, to all the springs of water and to all the brooks. Perhaps we will find grass to save the horses and mules, so that we do not lose all the beasts.” ⁶ So they divided the land between them to search throughout it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

⁷ As Obadiah was going along, he met Elijah, and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is that you, my lord Elijah?”

⁸ And he answered him, “I am. Go, tell your lord, ‘Elijah is here.’ ”

⁹ He said, “What evil have I done that you would hand your servant into the hand of Ahab to put me to death? ¹⁰ As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not looked for you, and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the kingdom and nation swear that they could not find you, ¹¹ and now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Elijah is here!” ’ ¹² As soon as I am gone from you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know, and so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will execute me. But I, your servant, have feared the Lord since my youth. ¹³ Were you not told what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord’s prophets in groups of fifty in a cave and fed them with bread and water? ¹⁴ And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Elijah is here,” ’ and he will execute me.”

¹⁵ Elijah said, “As the Lord of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”

Elijah and the Prophets of Baal

¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah. ¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Are you he that troubles Israel?”

¹⁸ And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed the Baals. ¹⁹ Now send word out and gather for me all Israel on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

²⁰ So Ahab called out all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. ²¹ Elijah came to all the people and said, “How long will you stay between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him, but if Baal, then follow him.”

And the people did not say a word.

²² Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone remain a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets number four hundred and fifty men. ²³ Therefore, let them give us two bulls, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on some wood, but do not light a fire under it, and I will prepare the other bull, lay it on some wood, and not light a fire underneath it. ²⁴ And you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God that answers by fire, let Him be God.”

And all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.”

²⁵ Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for there are many of you, and call on the name of your god, but do not light a fire underneath.”

²⁶ They took the bull which was given to them, and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us.” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.

²⁷ By noon, Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry out loud, for he is a god. Either he is talking or is gone away or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” ²⁸ They cried out loud and cut themselves with knives and spears according to their custom until the blood gushed out on them. ²⁹ And as midday passed, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

³⁰ Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. ³¹ Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came saying, “Israel shall be your name,” ³² and he built an altar in the name of the Lord with stones, and he made a trench around the altar, so deep that it could contain two seahs^[b] of seed. ³³ He arranged the wood and cut the bull in pieces and laid him on the wood and said, “Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.”

³⁴ He said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time.

And he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it the third time. ³⁵ The water ran all around the altar and also filled the trench with water.

³⁶ At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “The Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and that I have done all these things at Your word. ³⁷ Hear me, O Lord, hear me, so that this people may know that You are the Lord God and that You have turned their hearts back again.”

³⁸ Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench.

³⁹ When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”

⁴⁰ Elijah said to them, “Arrest the prophets of Baal, and do not let one of them escape.” And they arrested them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon brook and executed them there.

End of the Drought

⁴¹ Elijah said to Ahab, “Get up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of a heavy rainfall.” ⁴² So Ahab got up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and he threw himself down on the ground and put his face between his knees.

⁴³ And he said to his servant, “Go up now, and look toward the sea.”

And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.”

And he said, “Go again,” seven times.

⁴⁴ On the seventh time, he said, “A small cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising out of the sea.”

And he said, “Go up and say to Ahab, ‘Mount your chariot and get down, so that the rain does not stop you.’ ”

⁴⁵ In the meantime, the sky turned black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. ⁴⁶ The hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

Elijah Flees From Jezebel

19 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. ² Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”

³ When he saw that she was serious, he arose and ran for his life to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. ⁴ But he went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree and asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough! Now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.”

⁵ As he lay and slept under the juniper tree, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” ⁶ He looked, and there was a cake baked on coals and a jar of water at his head. And he ate and drank and then lay down again.

⁷ The angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” ⁸ He arose and ate and drank and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Elijah Hears the Lord

⁹ He came to a cave and camped there, and the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?”

¹⁰ And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, Lord of Hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.”

¹¹ He said, “Go and stand on the mountain before the Lord.”

And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind split the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake came, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² And after the earthquake, a fire came, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire, a still, small voice. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood in the entrance to the cave.

And a voice came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”

¹⁴ And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, Lord of Hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go, return on the road through the Wilderness of Damascus, and when you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king over Aram. ¹⁶ And you shall anoint Jehu, the son of Nimshi, to be king over Israel, and you shall anoint Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah, to be prophet in your place. ¹⁷ He who escapes the sword of Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and he who escapes the sword of Jehu will be killed by Elisha. ¹⁸ Still, I have preserved seven thousand men in Israel for Myself, all of whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

The Call of Elisha

¹⁹ So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him and he with the twelfth, and Elijah passed by him and threw his cloak on him. ²⁰ He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow you.”

And he said to him, “Go back, for what have I done to you?”

²¹ So he returned from following him and took a yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes from the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he got up and went after Elijah and ministered to him.

Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria

20 Now Ben-Hadad the king of Aram gathered his army together. Thirty-two kings were with him, with horses and chariots, and he went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it. ² He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: ³ Your silver and gold is mine, as are your most attractive wives and children.”

⁴ The king of Israel answered, “My lord, O king, just as you have said, I and all that I own are yours.”

⁵ The messengers came again and said, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: Although I have said that you must give me your silver and gold, your wives and your children, ⁶ instead I will send my servants tomorrow about this time, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants, and whatever is precious to you, they will put it in their hands and take it away.”

⁷ Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, “Please notice how this man is looking for trouble, for he has demanded I give him my wives and children and my silver and gold, and I have not denied his request.”

⁸ All the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen to him or consent to his demands.”

⁹ Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, “Tell my lord the king: I will comply with the first request of your servant, but this thing I will not do.” And the messengers departed and brought him word again.

¹⁰ Then Ben-Hadad sent messengers to him and said, “The gods do to me and then some if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”

¹¹ The king of Israel answered, “Tell him: Let not he who puts on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off.”

¹² When Ben-Hadad heard this message as he was drinking with the kings in the pavilions, he said to his servants, “Station yourselves!” And they stationed themselves against the city.

Ahab Defeats Ben-Hadad

¹³ Then a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Have you seen this great multitude? See, I will deliver it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁴ Ahab asked, “By whom?”

And he said, “Thus says the Lord: By the young leaders of the provinces.”

Then he said, “Who shall order the battle?”

And he answered, “You.”

¹⁵ Then he counted the young leaders of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two, and after them he counted all the people, all the children of Israel, and had seven thousand. ¹⁶ They went out at noon. But Ben-Hadad and the thirty-two kings who helped him were getting drunk in the pavilions. ¹⁷ The young leaders of the provinces went out first.

Ben-Hadad sent out scouts, and they told him, “Men from Samaria have come out.”

¹⁸ He said, “If they have come out peacefully, take them alive, and if they have come out for battle, take them alive.”

¹⁹ So these young leaders of the provinces came out of the city, followed by the army. ²⁰ Each one killed his man, and the Arameans fled with Israel pursuing them, but Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, escaped on a horse with the horsemen. ²¹ The king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and chariots and killed a great number of Arameans.

²² The prophet came to the king of Israel and said, “Go, strengthen yourself and prepare, and see what you do, for next year the king of Aram will come up against you.”

²³ The servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were stronger than us, but if we fight against them in the plain, we will surely be stronger than they. ²⁴ Do this: Dismiss the kings, each from his position, and put commanders in their places, ²⁵ and assemble an army like the army that you lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot, and we will fight them in the plain and will surely be stronger than they.” And he listened to their advice and followed it.

²⁶ The next year Ben-Hadad assembled the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. ²⁷ The children of Israel were assembled and were all present, and they went against them, and the children of Israel camped in front of them like two little flocks of kids, while the Arameans filled the country.

²⁸ A man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord: Because the Arameans have said, ‘The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys,’ I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you will know that I am the Lord.”

²⁹ They camped opposite each other for seven days, and on the seventh day, the battle was joined. The children of Israel killed a hundred thousand Aramean footmen in one day. ³⁰ But the rest fled into the city of Aphek, where a wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the men who were left. And Ben-Hadad fled and came into the city into an inner chamber.

³¹ His servants said to him, “We have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life.”

³² So they girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads and came to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’ ”

And he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother!”

³³ Now the men were diligently looking for a positive sign and quickly took hold of it, and they said, “Your brother Ben-Hadad!”

Then he said, “Go. You bring him.” Then Ben-Hadad came to him and got into the chariot.

³⁴ Ben-Hadad said to him, “I will restore the cities which my father took from your father, and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.”

Then Ahab said, “I will send you away with this covenant.” So he made a covenant with him and sent him away.

A Prophet Condemns Ahab

³⁵ Speaking in the word of the Lord, a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor, “Strike me, please.” But the man refused to strike him.

³⁶ Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, as soon as you leave me, a lion will kill you.” And as soon as he left him, a lion found and killed him.

³⁷ Then he found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” And the man struck him so that he was wounded. ³⁸ So the prophet departed and waited by the road for the king and disguised himself with ashes on his face. ³⁹ As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, ‘Keep this man, and if by any means he goes missing, then your life shall be given for his life, or else you shall pay a talent^[c] of silver.’ ⁴⁰ As your servant was busy here and there, he disappeared.”

And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you have decided it yourself.”

⁴¹ He quickly took the ashes away from his face, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. ⁴² He said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand a man whom I had appointed to utter destruction, you shall pay for his life with your life and his people with your people.’ ” ⁴³ The king of Israel went to his house in Samaria angry and depressed.

Naboth’s Vineyard

21 Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel right by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ² And after this Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, so that I can have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it, or if you prefer, I will give you its worth in money.”

³ Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”

⁴ Ahab returned home angry and depressed because of the answer Naboth the Jezreelite had given him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” He lay down on his bed and sulked and would not eat any bread.

⁵ But Jezebel his wife came to him and said, “Why is your spirit so sad that you refuse to eat bread?”

⁶ And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ”

⁷ Jezebel his wife said to him, “Are you not the governor of the kingdom of Israel? Get up and eat bread, and let your heart be happy, for I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.”

⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles that were in the city where Naboth lived. ⁹ In the letters she wrote,

“Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people, ¹⁰ and set two men, sons of Belial,^[d] before him, to bear witness against him, saying, ‘You blasphemed God and the king.’ And then carry him out and stone him, so that he will die.”

¹¹ The men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, as it was written in the letters that she had sent to them. ¹² They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth on high among the people. ¹³ Two men, children of Belial, came in and sat in front of him, and the men of Belial witnessed against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth blasphemed God and the king.” Then they carried him out of the city and stoned him to death. ¹⁴ Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

¹⁵ When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, she said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to sell to you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” ¹⁶ When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

The Lord Condemns Ahab

¹⁷ The word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: ¹⁸ Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria. He is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to possess it. ¹⁹ You shall speak to him, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Have you killed and also taken possession?” And you shall speak to him, saying, “Thus says the Lord: In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick your own blood!”

²⁰ Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?”

And he answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to work evil in the sight of the Lord. ²¹ ‘See, I will bring disaster upon you and will take away your posterity and will cut off all your males, both free and slave, who are left in Israel, ²² and will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger and made Israel to sin.’

²³ “The Lord also spoke of Jezebel, saying, ‘The dogs will eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’

²⁴ “Those from Ahab’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by birds of the air.”

²⁵ But there were none compared to Ahab, who sold himself to evil deeds in the sight of the Lord, which Jezebel his wife stirred up. ²⁶ He performed the most abominable act in following idols like the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.

²⁷ When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and walked meekly.

²⁸ The word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ²⁹ “See how Ahab humbles himself before Me? Because he humbles himself before Me, I will not bring the disaster during his lifetime, but during his son’s lifetime I will bring the disaster on his household.”

Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab^(A)

22 And there were three years without war between Aram and Israel. ² In the third year, Jehoshaphat king of Judah went to visit the king of Israel. ³ The king of Israel said to his servants, “You know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, but we have done nothing to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram!”

⁴ And he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle Ramoth Gilead?”

And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” ⁵ Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please ask for a word from the Lord today.”

⁶ Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, approximately four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I wait?”

And they said, “Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.”

⁷ Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can ask?”

⁸ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we can inquire of the Lord. But I hate him because he never prophesies good for me, but always evil.”

And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”

⁹ Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, “Quickly, bring Micaiah the son of Imlah.”

¹⁰ The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah each put on his robes and sat on his throne at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them. ¹¹ Zedekiah the son of Kenaanah made horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord: With these you shall push the Arameans until you have consumed them.”

¹² All the prophets prophesied similarly, saying, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hand.”

¹³ The servant who had gone to get Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “See here, the words of the prophets unanimously declare success for the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good.”

¹⁴ Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, I will speak whatever the Lord says to me.”

¹⁵ So he came to the king. And the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall we wait?”

And he answered him, “Go and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”

¹⁶ The king said to him, “How many times must I admonish you to tell me only the truth in the name of the Lord?”

¹⁷ And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These have no master. Let every man return to his own house in peace.’ ”

¹⁸ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

¹⁹ And he said, “Hear, therefore, the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside Him on His right hand and on His left. ²⁰ The Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab so that he will go up and die at Ramoth Gilead?’

“And one said this, and another said that. ²¹ Then a spirit came forth and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will persuade him.’

²² “The Lord said to him, ‘How?’

“And he said, ‘I will go and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’

“And He said, ‘You will be successful and persuade him. Go forth, and do so.’

²³ “Now therefore, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all your prophets here, and He has spoken evil concerning you!”

²⁴ Then Zedekiah the son of Kenaanah walked up and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “Which way did the spirit of the Lord go from me in order to speak to you?”

²⁵ And Micaiah said, “You will see in that day, when you go into an inner chamber to hide.”

²⁶ The king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, ²⁷ and say, ‘Thus says the king: Put this man in the prison, and feed him with reduced rations of bread and water until I return safely.’ ”

²⁸ Micaiah said, “If you return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” And he said, “Listen, all you people!”

Ahab Dies in Battle^(B)

²⁹ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. ³⁰ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and enter into the battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle.

³¹ But the king of Aram ordered his thirty-two commanders who had control over his chariots, saying, “Fight neither against small nor great, but only against the king of Israel.” ³² So when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely it is the king of Israel.” And they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. ³³ When the commanders of the chariots realized that it was not the king of Israel, they turned away from pursuing him.

³⁴ A certain man drew a bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the joints of the armor, and because of this, he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” ³⁵ The battle intensified that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot against the Arameans and died that evening, and the blood ran out of the wound into the floor of the chariot. ³⁶ A proclamation went throughout the army as the sun was setting, saying, “Every man is to return to his city, and every man is to return to his own country.”

³⁷ So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried him there. ³⁸ The chariot was washed in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up the king’s blood, and they washed his armor according to the word which the Lord spoke.

³⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did and the ivory house that he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ⁴⁰ So Ahab slept with his fathers. And Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.

Jehoshaphat, King of Judah^(C)

⁴¹ Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. ⁴² Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. ⁴³ He walked in all the ways of Asa his father. He did not turn aside, doing that which was right in the eyes of the Lord. Nevertheless, the high places were not taken down, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. ⁴⁴ So Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.

⁴⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat and the strength he showed and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ⁴⁶ And he exterminated from the land the remnant of the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa. ⁴⁷ At that time there was no king in Edom, and a regent sat in the king’s place.

⁴⁸ Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they never made it there, for the ships were broken at Ezion Geber. ⁴⁹ Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat did not agree.

⁵⁰ Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father, and Jehoram his son reigned in his place.

Ahaziah, King of Israel

⁵¹ Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel. ⁵² He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel sin, ⁵³ for he served Baal and worshipped him and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.